Abstract
Postoperative hearing levels in 19 ears of 18 patients who underwent transmastoid decompression of the facial nerve without disarticulation of the incus between July 2001 and January 2009 were compared with those in 12 patients who underwent decompression surgery with incus disarticulation. In one ear, postoperative hearing loss of 10dB in the speech range (0.5-2kHz) was observed. Other ears did not show such postoperative hearing loss. Threshold elevation of 10 to 15 dB in 4 or 8 kHz was observed in 9 of 19 ears (47%). Although two patients complained of temporary tinnitus, there were no patients complaining of permanent tinnitus. Based on these results, it was shown that hearing changes after this surgery were mild compared with that in the group who underwent conventional decompression surgery. However, some technical skills to prevent touching the incus with a burr and to avoid injuring the inner ear are necessary. In conclusion, it was suggested that this surgery should be carefully performed by an expert after training in the conventional method with incus disarticulation.
